This is not to be missed, Seattle geeks. (As long as you’re lady geeks, of course.)

The city’s first GeekGirlCon is happening Saturday and Sunday, and passes can still be purchased at the door. Like many cons, this event will bring together folks who love all things tech, science and geek culture — but this time, it’s all about the women.

Melinda Gates, arguably the most powerful person at the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, just joined Twitter.

Husband Bill joined a while ago, but Melinda has long been a Twitter holdout. Wednesday morning, she finally caved. (Or more likely, her public relations team did.)

She tweeted three times Wednesday, including a message about preparing to go on the Colbert Report next week: “Great meetings today ahead of @ColbertReport and #EducationNation next week. Also caught up briefly with the always riveting @HansRosling.”

AIDS research just took a big step forward, and you can thank gamers for that.

Scientists had long been puzzled by the molecular structure of a protein-cutting enzyme classified as a “retroviral proteases” and found in an AIDS-like virus afflicting rhesus monkeys. The enzyme helps the virus spread, and it could hold a secret about how AIDS and other diseases are transmitted.

A researcher at the UW thought it might help to crowd source the problem. Dr. Firas Khatib of the University of Washington Department of Biochemistry posted the dilemma on Foldit, an online game where players can collaborate and compete in predicting the structure of protein molecules.

This just in from the New York Times: Idaho has the slowest Internet connectivity in the nation, and that’s partially because of bears rubbing themselves on towers.

It’s also because of snow, fog, mountains and (in summary) the fact that most of Idaho is rural countryside.

“I don’t think enough people understand just how bad the situation is,” one expert told the Times. “It really is time for this country to invest in getting its citizens online where we don’t have Internet access, especially in rural areas, so we stop sending jobs to India that we could be sending to Idaho.”

Show up at Seattle’s PAX convention this weekend looking for games and geekdom and you just might find Jesus.

That’s what Game Church is hoping, anyway. The California-based gamer church is in Seattle and ready to make new friends, according to a recent tweet: “Hey #pax we are on the 6th floor booth 6006. Come by tomorrow for insane swag!”

The coffee chain isn’t just handing out plastic cards redeemable for a free music download anymore. Starting Tuesday, customers are also snagging free Apple-based apps.

First up in the digital grab bag: the Shazam Encore app, which identifies music based on an audio function. Yes, that’s why that dude at the bar the other night was holding his phone up to the speaker and telling his friends to hush.

The era of Jonathan’s Card is over. The social experiment by Jonathan Stark of Rhode Island was nixed by Starbucks last week, meaning strangers can’t buy coffee or reload Stark’s public coffee card anymore.

The computer programmer invited strangers to buy coffee with the bar code on his Starbucks card to see if givers would keep up with takers — and for a while, the experiment proved successful.

The card was shuttered Friday by Starbucks, citing fraud concerns. But Stark said he doesn’t want that to mean an end to paying it forward.

Tired of dropping your cell phone? Put your mind at ease. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wants to develop an airbag that would cushion the device in case those butterfingers of yours let it slip one too many times.

If not airbags, Bezos is considering springs or propulsion technology.

According to GeekWire, Bezos and Amazon Vice President Greg Hart recently filed a patent application for “a system and method for protecting devices from impact damage.” The full application is here under the title “protecting devices from impact damage.”

Say you’re the picky sort. (Of course, you’re not … right?) You need a ride to that fancy party tonight, but you can’t just show up in a cab. A limousine’s too expensive, but you want a private car and a professional driver. You don’t have a big wad of cash in your wallet, and […]
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